Quick stepping bass and crashes of percussion amid electronica bliss serve as an excellent introduction to the set. Lotus’ sound was as smooth and groovy as aged gin mixed with fresh rum (and with the same bite). It’s just pure funk, designed to get the audience and by God it did! The crowd reacted absolutely spontaneously to the liquid bubbling bass, the wah and woops of guitar and any mixing keyboard melody. The opening song was 10 minutes of delirium, conducted by the drums and led by recorded electronic vocals.

Electronica took over completely with two keyboards in action. The melody goes wibbly wobbly as the other keyboard provides brass. The first of the set’s guitar solo blazed over the pitter patter of drums.The band proved to be more funky then the Sunday evening Fuji Rock toilets (not a mean feat…), with slippery sliding bass contesting against sharp wicked guitar. It’s this kind of music that truly deserves the name dance music, not the stuff that goes by its name now.

The following song was a more straightforward happy number with less groove but the sheer cheerfulness persuaded the crowd, the masterful cymbal work in particular impressing! Bongo vs guitar opened the next, bass brushing them both aside to set the mood to chill, with electronica swamping through underneath. An almost mystical quiet settles as the battle between the dual bass and guitar heats up. This broke into the Legend of Zelda theme for a good six minutes. And if there’s any country that appreciates a video game reference in any part of their life, it’s Japan.

Every song was an extended session, almost jam-like as the musicians fed off each other’s playing. As the sky darkens the mood grows quieter but as the stage lights grow in strength the crowds energy returns, even better when the disco ball starts spinning to liquid ripples of guitar sound. The final song contained multiple false finishes but it just served to ramp the crowd up for the final dancing finale, leaving the audience still with a click on their fingers, a smile on their face and contentment in their hearts.